MOCA networking 101

Hey all,

I am trying to get my head wrapped around MOCA networking as it relates to my Quantum gateway system. I drew this up to share and you are welcome to run with it. BUT, I need to know where and how to add a MOCA bridge pair so that I can get increased speed. I chatted with support who told me that VZ throttles the MOCA network to 100MB. I need more than that for some wired devices.

Take a look at how I think it's all wired and let me know if you have ideas where a MOCA pair can be added.

Thanx all.

John

Accepted answers

Seeker1437

The speed is not throttled, however the frequency coax supports is not dedicated to just MoCA, for example sending a video signal on the same cable, so it is not possible to go above the speed the supported frequency range allows. The same principle applies to cable services the typically have faster download then upload, they lower the available frequency range for upload to give it to download.

1. The Coax port on the ONT is both input and output. Coax is the original cable used for Ethernet cable until the STP/UTP Ethernet cables were invented. It handles MoCA WAN/LAN and Video.

2. Any coax wiring and splitters connected to the coax port on the ONT are connected together forming a physical coax network. Your router is connected to the coax network because you more than likely have television services and the set top box(es) use the coax network (MoCA LAN) to communicate with the router to get information from connected services such as Guide, Video On Demand, and Widgets. (Test this by disconnecting the coax from the router then trying to access on demand, the set top box will say it has no data connectivity)

3. Your router has an Ethernet connection because your Internet speed is more than likely faster than 100 or your service was installed more recently.

In older configurations Internet could come over coax or Ethernet, typically for people with speeds below 150, they are configured for MoCA Internet which only required coax wiring. In this setup, coax was used for Video, MoCA WAN (Internet), and MoCA LAN.

In your setup Ethernet is used for WAN (Internet) while coax is used for MoCA LAN and Video.

The setup of usage of a MoCA adapter is not supported by Verizon. If you experience issues while using the MoCA adapter, it is recommended you confirm the issue persists after removing the MoCA adapter(s) from your network.

The setup of MoCA adapters are usually covered by the manufacturer of the adapter itself.

One example is with Actiontec:

https://www.actiontec.com/moca/

The above link has an image representing the proper way to install the adapter in a pair.

Input from the router is an Ethernet connection from an available LAN Ethernet (typically yellow on Verizon routers) port on the back of the router to the Ethernet port on the MoCA adapter. Coax is used for communication between the two adaptors and the Ethernet port on the second pair is used to connect a device or switch which would get the gigabit speed.

Here is an example with the apir installed and working.

All comments

Edg1

I can't see the picture yet until the mod approval but what the rep told you was incorrect.

There are two types of MoCA that Verizon deals with. MoCA WAN which works at 1000 MHz. The ONT support version 1.1 so yes that is limited to 100 mbps. If your internet speed is above 100 mbps then you need an ethernet connection.

Then you have MoCA LAN which is how the STBs, FiOS Network Extender, FiOS Network Adapter, and other MoCA adapters work. The is a different frequency at 1125-1175 MHz. This allows for both WAN and LAN traffic on the same coax wiring.

If you have a Quantum Gateway router the MoCA LAN connection is version 2.0, so and other 2.0 devices with get around 400 mbps.

As far as needing more than 100 mbps that is debatable and depends what you are doing. You only need 25 mbps to stream 4K. So unless regularly downloading and uploading large file then 100 mbps is perfectly fine.

Sumyall

The only thing not shown is where and how does the MOCA bridge fit in and where does it connect to the COAX side of the network. The drawing is yours if you need it, freely distribute.

Does anyone have a working knowledge of how this bridge gets added to the COAX side of MOCA bridge network?

Edg1

In your situation you don't need a second MoCA adapter. The Quantum Gateway provides the MoCA Network. Just connect you MoCA adapter to the coax and ethernet out will connect to and ethernet switch, wifi access point, or hardwired device you choose.

What STBs do you have and what is your subscribed internet speed?

Sumyall

I have the Quantum gateway with 1 Gig network speed on the WAN, and the CATV converters use a master STB or media center with hard drive.

I'd connected the MoCA bridge device to the network and do see activity but it's slow at >100MBs (closer to 30MBs). I was hoping I could use the MoCA network to extend WiFi by adding an old router downstream bridged to the main router.

I noticed that you can't see anything past the MoCA adapter which makes me think it has an amplifier inside that doesn't support two way traffic.

Edg1

What MoCA adapter are you using? The Quantum Gateway is 2.0, so if your adapter is also 2.0 then you should be getting close to 400 mbps.

Also what is the router you are using? The ethernet ports may be 10/100 so you will only get 100 mbps max and probably 1/3 of the on wif. If you can't see the devices connected to it then it is possible that it is on a different subnet. For example, your Quantum Gateway is 192.168.1.1 so you other router IP should be 192.168.1.2 and the DHCP server should be turned off.

Again, since you have the Quantum Gateway you don't need to use a pair of MoCA adapters. You can connect one of your adapters anywhere on your coax network and it will get an IP from the Quantum Gateway. MoCA 2.0 supports 16 clients. Your Quantum and 3 STBs could as 4, so you could still have 12 more MoCA devices on your network.

[Deleted User]